LIVING DONATION: Toddler Recovers From Transplant

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The past six months have been touch and go for a Des Moines family since their youngest boy received a life-saving kidney transplant.

From playing the piano, to playing house and running everywhere in between, Mom Sarah Reid says, "He's full of energy and happy. He's really happy most of the time."

But, the happy boy hasn't always been healthy. Teddy Reid was born with kidneys that didn't work. He spent much of his young life in the hospital. At a year-and-a-half, he was still crawling around the house and being fed continuously through a tube.

But, his life changed last summer. Sarah says, "It's been amazing to watch him go from how he was before he got his kidney to more or less a regular two year old now."

Teddy got a kidney transplant at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital July 18th. The kidney came from one of his mom's friends on Facebook. Donor Tiffany Tice says, "I feel great. For the first couple months, I was tired a little bit more. But now 6 months after, honestly I forget about it a lot until someone mentions it."

Tice, a young mom of two, felt back to normal about three weeks after the surgery. Three months later she participated in a Spartan Sprint Race. She says she has no regret of being a living kidney donor. She says, "I know it's a huge deal, but on the other hand, it went so well for me. It kind of like wasn't. If I had a 3rd, I'd probably give a third kidney."

As for Teddy, he's had a few health scares, including four hospital stays since the transplant. Sarah says, "The biggest one, there's a type of cancer called PTLD that transplant patients get, and for a little while we thought there was a possibility he might have that, which would have been really, really, really scary."

Fortunately he doesn't have the cancer, but his mom knows his journey isn't over. She says, "While we're hopeful and happy with the way things have turned out, there's just no telling what the future holds, so we're just sort of enjoying this relative calm period while we can."

According to the National Foundation for Transplants, the average kidney transplant costs $250,000, which doesn't include travel expenses and a life time of doctor visits and medications ahead of the patient. You can find out more about Teddy’s journey and fundraising efforts by clicking here.